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• The 1UP Show is Dead, Long Live CO-OP

  With the tragic news of the massive layoffs at 1UP and shutdown of EGM came not concern for game coverage but concern for the people and the original content that they produced. 1UP had the humor and the hubris to put their own writers and editors behind the mic and in front of the camera to become the stars of their own game commentary programs and the strangest thing happened: the audience started to connect with the crew of 1UP. Seeing them at play, being privy to their (somewhat) casual conversation, the staff of 1UP/EGM transformed from bylines to personalities. Fans of the 1UP Yours podcast have already rebounded with Rebel FM, and now the 1UP Show has also been reborn with this, the premiere episode of CO-OP. It is, fittingly, their Best Of 2008 episode (part 1). Holy crap, are there a lot of people in that one apartment! Also worthy of note, their new production company is Area 5, so named after the legendarily awesome final stage of REZ. Enjoy the first episode below, and welcome back, kids: Read More... Posted Jan 21 2009, 05:00 PM by Derrick Sanskrit with | with no comments Filed under: derrick sanskrit, 1up, rez, egm, 2008, best of 2008, rebelfm, area 5, co-op

• Games I Probably Should Have Played in 2008

  Since we've reached the point in January where last-year retrospectives have become completely lazy and tiresome, I figured I'd squeeze at least one more out because, hey, I've still got some 2008 baggage left. It was a super-busy year for me, full of new assignments, responsibilities, and that maelstrom of neverending crap known to most of you as "fall."  Since my free time was so limited, I had to make some serious decisions about what to play; and some choices, like spending over 60 hours on Grand Theft Auto IV, were clearly wrong. This poor planning left many games I wanted to play untouched and unloved in a GameFly distribution center as they sat in their paper sleeves and desperately waited for me to add them to my queue. Why must inanimate objects make me feel so guilty? Maybe you can tell me if I made the right decisions by looking at--and judging me by--the games I had no time to play. It's the only way I'll learn. Read More... Posted Jan 15 2009, 04:30 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: fallout 3, tales of vesperia, bob mackey, mirror’s edge, persona 4, 2008, tomb raider underworld

• WTFriday: PuLiRuLa

  Bob said I could take over this week's WTFriday when I showed him this oddity, so away we go. PuLiRuLa is a basic side-scrolling beat-em-up and it's completely insane. Free jazz soundtrack, weird sexual imagery, and a mix of surreal photos and quirky animation. This was released to arcades in 1991, and was ported to several consoles in Japan later. The surreal game defies all logic, and if it weren't for Youtube proof I'd swear I dreamt it. It's safe to say that whoever conceived the graphical style deserves the "Terry Gilliam of Japan" award. Highlights include a giant pair of legs, a sumo wrestler's bare butt and a 30ft wriggling tongue.  Scarring videos after the jump: Read More... Posted Dec 19 2008, 05:30 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, wtfriday, beat-em-ups, 2008, pulirula

• Best Game Writing of 2008

  Simon Parkin at the excellent Chewing Pixels has a roundup of some of the year's best game-related writing. There's some great stuff here, enought to keep me busy for the afternoon. Included is an insightful piece about the oft-reviled Luigi's Mansion, courtesy of Edge Magazine's Time Extend column. David Wong's Cracked article about the coming video game crash is both delightful and chilling. Well, I'll just leave you to it, then. Read More... Posted Dec 19 2008, 03:30 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, journalism, writing, lists, 2008, chewing pixels

• 10 Games Nadia Played In 2008 Instead Of Working: Super Smash Bros Brawl

  My games writing career saw a healthy boost in 2008. Ironic counter to my success: a subsequent decline in personal opportunities to sit back and play games for my own enjoyment. This is not a phenomenon exclusive to me. I often get hissing telephone calls in the dead of night from writers and editors at 1UP.com, IGN, Gamespot, etc: "One of ussss, one of ussss. Hey, have you played Fallout 3 yet? Didn't think sssssso." My obligatory "Best Of" list is a little malnourished as a result. I had a lot of review titles shoved down my throat and now my liver is a quivering, delicious mass. I mean, nothing was wrong with Ninja Reflex DS, but--yeah, I'll stop here (it did get me through a long wait at the passport office). Still, it's not like my favourite hobby has transformed entirely into stylus-poking drudgery. I still had some good times. There is a story behind my acquisition of Super Smash Bros Brawl. It involves the worst winter I've ever experienced and the worst snowstorm that capped that worst winter. I smashed, so to speak, through some belly-high drifts just to attend the game's damnable midnight launch. I'm too old and crotchety for midnight launches in the best weather; rest assured it was all my husband's idea. Read More... Posted Dec 10 2008, 09:56 AM by Nadia Oxford with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: nintendo ds, wii, super smash bros brawl, nadia oxford, 2008, top 10

• Derrick's Top 13 Games of 2008 - Part 1

  Yes, it's that most wonderful time of the year, when we make our lists and check them twice. As Bob and Cole have already pointed out, annual Top 10 game lists are popping up all over the place. I started organizing my own list over a month ago and had a very hard time leaving a few games out (come on, it was a pretty damn good year for games), and since thirteen has been my lucky number since the third grade I am now proud to present my own personal Top 13 Games of 2008, brought to you in three managable installments. Hopefully there'll be a little something for everyone. Let's get this party started: 13 - rRootage (iPhone/iPod Touch, ported from PC): You know what I always loved about the classic top-down shooters? Those huge, insane, too-many-flying-objects-on-screen-at-once boss fights. Wouldn't it be great if someone made a game that was just that? Oh, and if it were portable - fit right in my pocket. And it would be so sweet if I could play it with just one or two fingers and listen to whatever music I wanted to while I played. Yeah, that sure would be a dream. Oh wait... somebody made that game? And it's free? Woah... Read More... Posted Dec 09 2008, 01:00 PM by Derrick Sanskrit with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: nintendo ds, derrick sanskrit, no more heroes, wii, top ten, wii fit, ace attorney, iphone, goichi suda, top ten of 2008, 2008, rRootage

• Time Unveils Top Ten Games of 2008

  Time Magazine has unleashed their picks for the year's best video games. I was pleasantly surprised by a few of the choices. I'd like to think that it represents a subtle sea change in the way media evaluates games. I wonder if the big game publishers will follow suit. Nah. The list...after the jump! Read More... Posted Dec 08 2008, 03:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, ipod, lists, 2008